TO SEE YOU SMILE

Chapter 1: The House Of Pillars

“If you see your friend drowning and nobody’s around to help but you, would you still help them even though you don't know how to swim?”

"I'm sorry but I don't have any friends, ma’am." I answered our teacher straightforwardly after she asked me that question.

I don't know how to answer it honestly because I don't have any friends. After all, I have always been by myself.

The teacher’s expression suddenly changed because of my answer and she looked at me with a pity look. I don't understand why she had to look at me that way. She's supposed to scold and get angry at me right now.

"But you have a lot of classmates here, Tokito, don't you want to befriend at least one of them?" She asked again.

Raising my head a little higher, I slowly look at my classmates who are looking at me with their dirty looks then shake my head gently before answering our teacher's follow up question.

"No, ma'am, I don't think I need one."

I bowed my head down and didn't look at anyone anymore. I could hear some of my classmates whispering to each other and talking about what I just said.

"Who is he to tell us that he doesn't need us?"

"We're the one who doesn't need him."

"Yeah, he thinks highly of himself when he's just a slave."

"He's not even welcome here."

Ma'am slapped her hands on the white board to get their attention and silenced them.

Then she gestured me to sit down, so I did.

Slave? Right. I'm just a slave. A slave that doesn't have to study with these kids because they still have parents unlike me.

But I wasn't hurt or anything. I didn't feel anything at all. I don't care about what they call me because I'm already used to it.

After I lost my family at the age of seven, I was taken by a group of bandits and they sold me to be a slave.

My first master was an old man and he has three sons. I was the one who woke up early in the morning to make them breakfast. I was also the one who cleaned their house, washed their clothes and cooked their lunch and dinner.

The master was kind enough to feed me and bought me new clothes. He also gave me a small room where I can rest and sleep comfortably at night. But his sons are pain in the ass.

Every time they saw me eating, they would snatch my food and throw it away. They also like breaking things and blaming me for it.

It's obvious that they don't like me. Well, I don't like them either. They even burned their father's favorite linen and told him I was the one who burnt it so the master got mad at me and he sold me to another family.

My second Master is a woman. She has one daughter and both of them were nice to me. They let me join them at the table during meal time and didn't force me to do all the house work for them.

But one time, when my former master couldn't go home early because of her hectic work, her daughter's guy friend had slept over at their house and I unintentionally caught the two of them doing something that only adults should do.

Her daughter begged me to keep it a secret. I told her that I won't tell anything to the master unless the master asked me herself. She got afraid that her mom would find it out so she kicked me out from their house by shamelessly telling her mom that I tried to rape her that night.

The master immediately believed her baseless accusation and sold me to another family.

She wants to put me in prison but I'm still a minor so she has no other choice but to get rid of me.